Immersive Experiences: Trust Building in Virtual Reality (working title)

Virtual reality applications become more popular, yet, there is little research about their societal implications. The central phenomenon immersion, the depth of the experience, has the potential to make education more efficient, to advance regeneration and to simplify work. However, it has not been investigated as to what extent the technology is trusted and whether trust plays a role in an enhanced perception: Can the trustworthiness of journalistic products be increased through immersive reception, for example with 360-degree movies in war reporting? Are there certain characteristics of a virtual interaction environment that facilitate trust and contribute to the technology’s diffusion? The dissertation project unites the relatively fragmented research field of virtual reality, the concept of immersion and literature on trust in order to create a model explaining the processes in immersive virtual environments. Methodically, an experiment and different surveys are planned. The results contribute to assessing the consequences of new technological oppurtunities in a digitized world and unterstand virtual processes.